Blog Four: Committees

"A committee is a group of the unprepared, appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary." - Fred Allen

John McCain serves as Chairman on the Armed Services Committee

"Senator John McCain serves as:

• Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services;
• Member and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs;
• Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs," according to Senator McCain's website.

Senator McCain’s Chairmanship on the Armed Services committee should come as no surprise given his military experience and Senatorial tenure.  The U.S. Senate Republicans announced their committee assignments for the 114^th Congress on December, 2014.  The Senate Armed Services standing committee is the 5^th most desired committee to serve on, according to Dr. Wanless’s lecture.  Paired with his Senatorial experience, Senator McCain personal experience and international relations involvement led to his committee assignment.  According to a CNN article (which announced McCain’s intent to run for his 6^th senate term), Senator McCain has been a “vocal critic” of President Obama, “Advocating for more aggressive intervention in Iraq and Syria to combat ISIS, and in Ukraine, to help the government fend off Russian-backed rebels.”

Senator McCain laid out his outline of priorities for the Armed Services committee in a recent presentation at a Center for Strategic & International Studies event.   He highlighted his concerns with Russia, China, Iran, asserting:

John McCain speaks at a Center for Strategic and International Studies

“States like these, while different in many ways, possess similar hegemonic ambitions, they practice a zero-sum realpolitik, ascribing themselves exclusive rights in old spheres of influence.  They embody a dangerous mix of nationalism and autocracy.  And they are modernizing their militaries in asymmetric ways that aim to negate American power projection.  Put simply, states like China, Russia, and Iran threaten to revise and roll back key tenets of the Liberal world order.”

Additionally, Senator McCain serves as a member on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs.  Arizona, Senator McCain’s home state, has the third largest population of American Indians of all the states, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  Senators from other densely-populated Native American regions - Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Alaska, Hawaii, and New Mexico - round out the Senate Indian Affairs committee.